Secret Lies
by boutondor
Summary: 5th fic up: Cho and Elise go to the movies and guess who they run into? Alternate Universe series. All chapters are one-shot fics that are part of the bigger series. The chapters are not in chronological order
1. 3am RendezVous

**3am Rendez-Vous**

~o~

_September 2009_

~o~

Lisbon's day had just gone from bad to worse. She was beyond shocked. She could not understand how her fingerprints had appeared on the murder weapon. Minelli didn't appear to completely believe her innocence. It hurt.

She shouldn't have been surprised that Jane walked in when Bosco was about to ask her some questions, but she was. She was not surprised, however, when he clearly showed his desire to stay. Secretly, she was glad that Jane was there. Even though he couldn't do anything, she felt his presence as something calming, something to hold onto.

She needed it, especially since she had to lie for the first question. She made sure not to look at Jane when she declared to have been at home, watching tv on Tuesday. It would have been harder to lie if she had been looking at him. When Bosco started to be more pressing, she couldn't help looking at Jane for reassurance, making herself more confident when telling her lie. Jane even ended up helping her out, which she was very grateful for. However, Bosco didn't seem to believe her and she started to panic when he mentioned a polygraph. There was no way she would go under a lie detector. She had her reputation to protect. What bad luck that the murder occurred on Tuesday night of all nights. She ended up leaving Minelli's office angry and frustrated. She couldn't believe Bosco and Minelli were doubting her innocence. On the other hand, she was really frustrated at her inability to defend herself properly.

About an hour later she got a text from Jane asking her to meet her at their usual coffee place. She sighed, annoyed. She knew what it would be about and she was even more annoyed at having to go out of her way to have this particular conversation with Jane.

~o~

She ordered a latte to go, ensuring that she could make a quick exit if there was need. Jane didn't arrive much later after she sat down. In normal circumstances, she would enjoy this: coffee outdoors with Jane on a beautiful day with a gorgeous view, but not today. Definitely not today.

"What's up that we couldn't talk inside? I'm busy."

"Thought you might want to be outside so you could express your anger without constraints."

"Why?"

"Why did you lie to Bosco about what you did on Tuesday night?" Jane asked as soon as he sat down.

"You know why."

"Teresa, this is a murder investigation."

She tried to remain calm, despite the fact that she had a very strong urge to throw her coffee in his face. "You don't think I know that? I didn't do it. You know I didn't do it. It will come out sooner or later and I don't have to drag my reputation through the mud."

"I could give you an alibi."

"Please everyone at the CBI knows that you would lie for me without a second thought. You're not much of an alibi. Even if I took the polygraph test, they wouldn't consider it a clean cut alibi. I will not jeopardize my reputation and career over whatever we have."

Jane leaned closer and looked directly into her eyes. "You're jeopardizing your reputation and career by not telling the truth, Lisbon."

"There is absolutely no guarantee that telling the truth will exonerate me, so for the meantime, I am sticking to my story."

Jane narrowed his eyes, but didn't break eye contact. "You're talking as if you were guilty."

"You're doubting my innocence as well? You were with me on Tuesday." She shook her head in disbelief, her shoulders slightly slouching.

"I was, which is my entire point. Why are you so willing to risk being accused of murder in order to keep our arrangement a secret? Are you afraid of what Minelli and Bosco will think of you if they knew?"

"Go to hell," she whispered angrily as she walked away.

~o~

"Jane."

He opened his eyes and looked up to see Lisbon standing at the end of the couch.

"You failed the polygraph."

She nodded.

"I suppose you came to apologize for being so stubborn."

She nodded and tried to keep the tears in. She felt powerless with all the accusations and secrecy and Jane was being a jackass, as usual.

"Want to go for a walk?" he asked gently. Maybe not that much of a jackass.

~o~

"Do you think it's possible that I left after you've fallen asleep and killed McTeer?" Lisbon asked as they entered her house. "Maybe I blocked out the murder because I don't want to remember it."

Jane walked into the kitchen and picked up her kettle. Opening one of her cupboards, he took out her tea box. He put water in the kettle and turned it on. As she watched him move around her kitchen, she wondered if he heard her question.

Finally, he turned around to look at her and answer her question. "It is possible, but you didn't kill McTeer."

"How would you know? You were asleep the whole night. I could have easily slipped out, killed McTeer and come back without you ever waking up. Dr. Carmen said that it's a possibility."

"So the Good Doctor knows about us?"

Lisbon nodded. "He guessed and I confirmed it today. He thinks I may have blocked out McTeer's murder in order to protect you."

Jane shook his head as he clarified his point of view: "I would have woken up if you had gotten out of bed." He took two mugs out and poured milk in one of them. Grabbing two teabags from the box, he put one in each mug.

"You sleep incredibly well after sex, Jane. I don't think you would wake up if I detonated a bomb next to you." She chuckled humorlessly. "Do you have any idea how many reports I've finished with you sleeping next to me? You never stir once."

"That's because you're there. For some reason, and please don't take this as a big romantic symbol, but I sleep better when you're close. It probably has something to do with the fact that you can fire a gun extremely well."

She shrugged. She was well aware that Jane was with her because it was comforting. She was also one of the rare people he trusted. She had stopped believing there would be anything more than friendship, and now sex, between them a long time ago.

"Six weeks ago," Jane continued, "you were about to leave early to answer a call, remember? You wanted to let me sleep some more before putting me on the case. I woke up as soon as you had left the bed."

The kettle whistled and Jane filled the mugs with boiling water.

Lisbon looked in the distance, trying to remember the morning he was talking about. She jogged her memory, thinking about the times they spent together over a month ago. She thought of the 'morning-after's, which usually varied from one to the next. Finally, she recalled an early morning call, Jane sleeping soundly next to her, not woken by the ringing of her cell phone, and her not having the courage to wake him up. "Oh yeah," she said as she remembered. She remembered how shocked she had been to see him awake, sitting up on the bed, when she had finished dressing.

Jane handed Lisbon her cup of tea. "I think you need this." She smiled gratefully.

"See," he said, "I sleep when you're not there, but not as well. I wake up every 15 minutes or so. There is no way you could have gone, killed McTeer and come back in 15 minutes. I'm sure you didn't do it, but, if you want, I could put you in a light trance…"

Lisbon shook her head vehemently. "No hypnosis Jane. I don't want you inside my head."

"I would make it quick and this way you would be sure. You'll feel so much better once you're sure."

Lisbon shook her head. "No thank you." She smiled at him. "There's something else I would rather be doing."

~o~

Jane had put her Spice Girls CD on as a joke. He had been trying to lighten up the mood, which had been very sweet of him, actually. She never had sex to 'Wannabe' before. It was a weird experience. As they laid on her bed, for once not falling asleep straight after, she tried not to think that the last time they had done this, McTeer was being killed.

"This is the fifth time we've done this at a time that wasn't between 2 and 4 o'clock in the morning."

She frowned. Jane was right. Usually they had sex because Jane couldn't sleep. It was as simple as that. She was his sleeping pill and her lack of sex life the last couple of years had made her more than willing to oblige. So Jane would usually crawl in her bed around 3am, and wake her up to do naughty things. Afterwards he would always sleep like a baby. They had, therefore, rarely slept together outside that early morning timeframe. The first time they didn't was actually the first time they slept together. That was after Jane shot Hardy. They had both needed it. Jane had surprisingly slept so well after the sex that he had easily figured out that sleeping with her helped him sleep. Since that day they had been sleeping together 2-3 times a week, nearly always early morning.

The second time they slept together outside early morning hours was her first meeting with Dr. Carmen. She had been so frustrated by not being signed off and having to come back again. As soon as she had been out of the Doctor's office, she called Jane up and asked him if he wanted to come over.

The third time had been the day they lost the Red John case. They did it in the car, right before he was meeting Bosco. They both had an extremely frustrating day and she had been the one needing to release some of the tension. She had parked on an empty side road right outside Sacramento and literally jumped him.

The fourth time had been Tuesday night. Dr. Carmen had started to ask many questions about her working habits and her team. She had been particularly annoyed when he had started to investigate the nature of her relationship with Jane.

"Hm, it happens when I'm annoyed."

"Don't you find it interesting that in the last four months, we have slept together about 50 times and the murder happened to be one of the rare times we slept together at a time other than 3am?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

"Hm," was all Jane said. "You sure I can't put you under a very short, light hypnosis? We'll know once and for all."

Lisbon grabbed her underwear and shirt. "Fine, but it better be quick."

Jane grinned. "Promise."

It was unbelievable the things she allowed him to do after they've had sex.

~o~

Jane and Lisbon were sitting in Lisbon's living room across from each other. Jane was talking in a very soft, soothing voice. "So you're going down the steps, relaxing with each step. Now you reach the bottom, the very last step, the ultimate place of calm. How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"Good. You're going to remain in this relaxed trance state. Only think about Tuesday night, but first: you liked having sex to that Spice Girls CD, didn't you?" He half-smiled, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," Lisbon answered, smiling. She started dancing a little bit as if the music was playing in her head.

"I thought so. Now Tuesday. You're going to watch the whole day like it's a movie. Every detail is in focus. You can zoom into any moment you want. You can fast-forward, rewind. You are in total control, ok?"

"Ok," she said in a complete relaxed tone.

"Good. What do you see?"

"I'm finishing up the form 41s on the Noel Bank case. I feel hungry because I skipped lunch. The new guy in the mail room is hot."

"Is he?" Jane asked, curious.

"Yeah," she breathed out.

He wasn't jealous exactly, but he didn't like the fact that Lisbon noticed the new guy that way. He preferred moving on from that particular topic. "Let's fast-forward a little, later in the day. You're about to leave CBI."

"Van Pelt's working late. She's a hard worker. She might do well if she manages not to sleep with Rigsby."

"Where do you go now?"

"Home. You're already there when I arrive. I called you earlier. You could tell I needed you."

He couldn't resist asking. He had an idea why she had called him out of the blue to meet up, but he just wanted his suspicions confirmed. "Why did you?"

"I had an appointment with Dr. Carmen. He asked too many questions. I was annoyed."

Jane had thought as much. He nodded, even though Lisbon couldn't see it."What happens next?"

"We have sex on the kitchen table." Her lips curled a little at that and he couldn't help smiling back. "I'm worried it'll break," she added.

"But it didn't," he pointed out.

"No, it didn't."

"What did you do after that?" He knew, of course, but wanted to see what she would remember.

"I go to the bathroom to take a shower. When I come out you're already in bed, but you're not asleep yet."

"Do you see me fall asleep?"

She nodded. "Yes. You did as soon as I got in bed."

"What do you remember next?"

She frowned, looking unsure, but then answered: "Feeling sleepy."

"And then?" he prompted.

"I remember waking up," she says confidently. "I hear something. Someone's dressing." She paused and added: "It's you."

"Did you check your clock? Do you know what time it is?"

"Um… yes. Yes I did. It's 5:36am. You smile when you see me awake and you tell me you'll see me at the office."

Jane nodded, satisfied. He remembered as much.

"Good." He leaned forward and placed a hand on her forehead. "Open your eyes."

Lisbon opened her eyes and looked at Jane straight in the eye. "So, I didn't do it right?"

"You definitely didn't do it," he reassured her.

~o~

Lisbon dropped the bottle of rum she had in her hand. Prescription pills were scattered across her coffee table. Behind her Dr. Carmen was standing, trying to reason with her.

"You killed McTeer?" he asked her.

She swiftly turned around, displaying the gun she had in her hand as she did so.

"How the hell would I know? Maybe. I thought I was sleeping, but Jane was sleeping the whole time so he can't confirm it. Maybe I blocked it. Maybe I did it and the guilt made me block it out. Everyone I know: Jane, Minelli, my team, even Bosco will be disappointed and hurt."

Dr. Carmen looked scared. "Teresa, you want to put away your Glock there." He tried to use a calm tone, but wasn't succeeding.

"Very good eye Doctor. The Glock 9mm. The safety's at the trigger. How stupid is that? I mean, it's kind of not having a safety at all."

"How about you give it to me?" he asked as he extended a hand out.

She pointed the gun at him and he jumped, closing his eyes, scared. "Don't look at me like that." She waved the gun left and right. "Don't look at me like that. This is your fault."

Dr. Carmen opened his eyes again. "Teresa," was all he said.

"You unlocked too many things in my head and now I can't trust my own memories. My head is messed up and it's your fault."

"Teresa, put it down. You need to be calm and put down the gun."

"Calm?" Her voice pitched up. "You were right Doctor, there was something I wanted to tell you. I act calm on the outside, but on the inside I'm so angry I think I'm going to explode. All the pain and misery I see everyday makes me want to scream but I lock it down." Tears started to well up in her eyes and her voice was shaking. "I lock it down because I have to be calm and rational because that's my job. I also want to be there for Jane. He needs me. But I need him too. I need him and he still wears his wedding ring. Still, I have to stay calm, be his rock and be there for him. But I want to pull this trigger. I want to kill."

"You're angry. I hear that." Dr. Carmen said, trying to calm Lisbon down.

"I think I did it," she confessed. "I think I killed McTeer."

"Sshh, Teresa. If you did it, that's ok. He was a bad man. There's no need to hurt anyone else or yourself." His voice had become steadier. He was regaining control of the situation.

"I still can't remember."

"You can and you will. When you do, when you push through to the truth, all this weight and worry will come off your shoulders," he said in a hopeful tone.

"Ok," she whispered.

"I want you to visualize that scene for me. Relive that moment. You went into the alley after this terrible man. Can you see him?"

"No. Well, yes," she hesitated. "Maybe."

"Yes, you see him. You see the dumpsters, and the trash and the crumbling old bricks and you see McTeer." He's getting excited. "You see him, there, this monster who has destroyed so many lives. It's too much. See it Teresa. Live it. The weak, the garbage, the filthy alley walls, the faded cross there. God may have mercy on William McTeer, but you sure as hell wouldn't." His tone is now focused and in control. "He deserved to die, but you're still a good person, Teresa. You can get through this."

"The cross?"

"The what?" Dr. Carmen asked, confused.

Lisbon's tone is now calm for the first time since Dr. Carmen had walked in her house. "The cross, Roy. How did you know about the cross? It was inside the door; only the killer saw it."

"Well, Teresa, you told me about the crime scene."

"No, I didn't."

As Dr. Carmen began to realize the implications of her statement, Jane, sitting on the stairs that lead to Lisbon's bedroom, exclaimed, "Oh, beautifully done. Lovely work, Lisbon," he praised her as he got up and walked down the stairs.

"Wha?" Dr. Carmen appeared confused.

Jane ignored it and continued, "Of course, the cross. You couldn't resist the imagery, could you, doc? Catholic, perhaps?"

"What's going on?" Dr. Carmen asked.

"Surrender, Dorothy, we got you. Brilliant though, make Lisbon come back week after week for months so you would get her fingerprints off your coffee mug. You kept talking about the Hardy incident, making sure I was always part of the conversation, picking up on every detail she would give you about me and our relationship. You knew all along that we've been seeing each other. You probably followed us a few times, figured out when we were together, realized that since we're usually sleep-deprived, we always fall asleep straight after. Probably noticed that Lisbon and I got together outside early morning hours only when she was really irritated about something. Last Tuesday, you made sure she would be especially exasperated with you." He looked at Lisbon. "You knew she would call me and you knew she would conceal our relationship, which made her fail the polygraph. Quite the student of human nature, huh Doctor? Well done, really," he complimented as he turned back toward Dr. Carmen.

"Your breakdown in CBI, that was fake?" Dr. Carmen asked Lisbon.

Jane and Lisbon's gaze locked. "And how good was that? Huh?" Jane said proudly as she smiled at him. "What about that?" Jane broke eye contact and looked back at the doctor. "After that all I had to do was get Minelli to get you to come around here."

"I've been waiting for you all night."

"There was one little thing, one little thing," Jane pointed out. "Counting on us sleeping through the night, that was a little risky. When Lisbon isn't next to me, my sleep is always much lighter. I would have known if she had gone. When Lisbon couldn't remember doing anything after we fell asleep, even under hypnosis, I knew she couldn't have done it. The rest of it, spot on. Very, very impressive."

"Thanks," Dr. Carmen said bitterly.

"Not at all," Jane said seriously. Even if he was giving a slightly light-hearted speech, he was angry as hell for trying to frame Lisbon. And so was she.

She punched the doctor square in the face.

"You're under arrest," she said to him as she cuffed him. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney…"

~o~

"I hear Minelli's billing you for the glass," Bosco said to Lisbon from the threshold of her office.

"It's only fair," she replied, smiling, thinking back to her fake meltdown and the insane genius behind it.

"You know for a cop, you make a very convincing lunatic." Bosco paused as he walked in. The next words seem almost hard for him to let them out. "Jane must be proud."

"Maybe it's not good police work, but I have to confess: I enjoyed it. Letting loose for once."

"Look, I'm glad you got cleared," Bosco told her.

A knot began to form in her stomach. Guilt started to rise up and she wondered what Bosco would say if he knew about her and Jane. "I'm sorry that we couldn't let you in on the plan."

"You could have, but you didn't." He walked towards her until he was standing right in front of her. She felt uncomfortable, having him standing so close. "You should know," he adds, "that if it had turned out to be you…"

"I know," she confirms.

"So you do. Enough said."

She was sure that Bosco wouldn't have stood so close or said the things he just said had he known about her and Jane. Speaking of the devil, Jane strode into the office, completely unabashed.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" he asked, knowing full well he was. Lisbon started to think that Jane might have a very, very small jealous streak.

"No," Bosco quickly replied. "Good night Lisbon," he told her as he walked out.

"Good night Sam," Jane said as he half followed Bosco on his way to the door, almost making sure the man was leaving them alone. Lisbon chose to ignore this unusual display of jealousy. The two of them had had enough on their plates the last few days.

"Doughnuts from Marie's." Jane indicated the white paper bag he was holding.

"Ah," Lisbon said appreciatively as she took the bag from him. Jane glanced back outside her office, at Bosco's retreating form.

"I didn't see it," he said as he kept looking outside her office. "Of course," he added, finally looking at her.

"What?" Lisbon asked, digging in the bag to get a doughnut. She took a bite as soon as she got a hold of one.

"He's in love with you," Jane explained.

"Don't be silly."

"I know, hard to fathom, but there's no accounting for taste, is there?"

"Hush," she ordered as she threw the bag of doughnuts at him. He caught it and walked out.

Jane turned around and poked his head back. After watching her rummaging through her box for a second, he said: "I'll come by later?"

She looked up from the box and smiled. "Sure, around 2am?"

He grinned. "How about we make it midnight for a change?"

~o~

The end.


	2. Losing

**Losing**

~o~

_Mid-November 2009_

~o~

When Jane was about to walk into the bullpen, book in hand, he noticed Bosco entering Lisbon's office, two full shot glasses in hand. Jane stopped in his tracks. From where he was standing he could get a good view of Lisbon's office and be within earshot.

Lisbon was smiling at Bosco, the kind of smile she reserved to things that she really likes. Jane doesn't like that.

"Thought I would resurrect an old tequila tradition," Bosco said to Lisbon, handing her one of the shot glasses.

"I'm in," Lisbon said cheerfully as she took the glass.

Bosco whispered "Cheers" so softly that Jane almost missed it. What Jane definitely didn't miss was the way Lisbon was looking at Bosco, like she cared about him, really cared. A knot formed in his throat as he watched Lisbon clinking her glass with Bosco's and downing the drink. She didn't take her eyes off of Bosco the entire time.

"Smooth," she commented.

"Yes, it is," Bosco agreed.

She sat at the corner of her desk and sighed loudly, happily almost. The ghost of a smile kept playing on her lips.

"So am I someone you know now?" Bosco asked her.

She nodded and, smiling even more, confirmed, "I'm starting to recognize you, yeah."

Jane's ears pricked up when Bosco said: "You know that thing you said about Jane making you a better cop? You don't believe that."

Jane's heart skipped a beat. He had no idea what she was going to say.

"I may have exaggerated for effect." Her smile grew even bigger.

Jane could see Bosco nodding his approval. "Anyway, I wanted to say that it's been nice working with you again." They couldn't keep their eyes off each other. Why was Lisbon looking at Bosco like that?

"You too," she said gently like she meant it.

They were silent for a moment and Lisbon broke into one of the cutest laughs Jane had heard in a while. She used to laugh with him, but didn't so much anymore. Not since he had been thrown in jail. She still spent time with him, but she didn't laugh. Not like that.

"Good night," Bosco told her.

Jane swiftly crossed the bullpen. By the time Bosco reached the couch, Jane was calmly reading, appearing to have been sitting there for quite some time.

Bosco gave him the Red John file. Jane finally got his way.

So why did he feel like he was losing?

~o~

End.

~o~

_**Author's Notes:**_

_I wanted to thank everyone for the lovely reviews. Thank you also to everyone who has favourited this story. I really appreciate the time you have taken to write them._


	3. Something New

**Something New About Agent Lisbon**

~o~

_Early January 2010_

~o~

Dr. Sophie Miller ran across the street, trying to avoid the large puddles and the splashing water from the passing cars, and reached a little café that appeared to be warm and welcoming, and most of all: dry. Once inside, she went straight for the counter, manoeuvring her way around the crowded room. She really needed coffee. Despite being busy and low on staff, the service was quick and before she knew it, she had a cappuccino in her hands. She went to the sugar and milk stand to grab a couple of sugar packets. Only once she had everything she needed, did she realise that spare tables were scarce. She scoured the room with her eyes, trying to spot an empty table. After a minute or so, she noticed a table at the far left corner of the room that appeared to be empty. Once she reached the desired location, Sophie realized that the table was already occupied. She was about to leave when she noticed that the woman at the table looked familiar, although she couldn't quite place her. The woman who had been looking towards the counter, probably waiting for someone to come back with her beverage, finally noticed her.

"Dr. Miller?" she said in a surprised tone.

She felt quite embarrassed about not remembering the brunette. She quickly racked her brain to remember who she was and then a flash of recognition finally sprung. "Agent Lisbon!" she exclaimed, relieved to spare herself the embarrassment.

Agent Lisbon smiled politely, but Sophie could sense a discomfort from the agent. She didn't have much time to analyze the situation as she heard a familiar voice behind her:

"This coffee reeks of caffeine. To think you drink this stuff three or four times a day. No wonder you're so short."

Had Agent Lisbon not been so distracted by her presence, Sophie was sure that she would have given Patrick Jane the rhetoric he deserved. Patrick put two mugs on the table and was looking at the brunette, not noticing the tall blonde standing in front of him. Sophie gently touched his arm and said "Patrick" to get his attention. He immediately whipped around and smiled at her, clearly happy to see her.

"Sophie!" he exclaimed and shook her hand cordially. "How good to see you."

She smiled back. "Same." She looked at Lisbon who did not seem to think it was that good to see her. "I better go find a table before there are none left," she said nodding to both of them.

"There aren't any," Patrick told her as he sat down next to Agent Lisbon. "This was the last one." He smiled at her and indicated the chair across from Agent Lisbon, "please, join us."

Sophie looked at his companion, hesitating. She was pretty sure she was intruding. Agent Lisbon noticed her hesitation and smiled at her for the first time. "Yes, please sit," she told her.

The prospect of finally sitting down and drinking her coffee won Sophie over and she gracefully accepted the invitation. As she was sitting down, she noticed a look passing between Patrick and Agent Lisbon. That was interesting.

"How are you?" she asked Patrick.

Patrick took a sip of his tea before answering. "Good. Lisbon here tries to keep me in line."

"And failing miserably," Agent Lisbon added.

Sophie smiled at Lisbon's meagre attempt at humour. The poor woman was trying. "The person who manages to keep Patrick Jane in line deserves an award," she said. "How's work, Agent Lisbon? Are you getting closer on the Red John case?"

Agent Lisbon tensed as soon as Sophie said 'Red John' and quickly glanced at Patrick. Sophie noticed Patrick's arm moving and was pretty sure that if she looked under the table, she would see Patrick holding Agent Lisbon's hand.

"Call me Teresa," Agent Lisbon said genially. "We've got a few more leads than we used to have, but he still eludes us."

"I'm sorry for opening a can of worms," she apologized.

Patrick waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Don't worry about it. We both know you were asking out of concern. The subject isn't taboo."

Sophie nodded and then took a good look at Lisbon. "Something's different about you," she told her, "something new."

"She got bangs," Patrick said good-humouredly.

Sophie smiled, but shook her head, dismissing Patrick's theory. "No, it's something else. I can't pinpoint what exactly. Maybe it's the fact that you're dating. You weren't when I met you, right?" she asked. Lisbon tensed again. Sophie was starting to understand that Agent Lisbon did not like people knowing anything personal about her. Patrick, on the other hand, was as relaxed as ever and was grinning.

"No, we weren't dating when you last saw us," he confirmed. He raised the hand that had been holding Agent Lisbon's to the brunette's face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She pretended to be annoyed, but it was obvious to Sophie that Agent Lisbon was pleased with Patrick's display of affection.

"We're not _dating_, exactly," Lisbon corrected.

Sophie raised an eyebrow, inquiringly. "Oh?"

"We're lovers," she told her.

"She means it in the modern, sexual definition, not the archaic, literal definition," Patrick quipped.

Sophie tried very hard not to laugh. She always knew that the next time Patrick would be involved with a woman would be quite unorthodox and interesting. Watching Agent Lisbon and Patrick together confirmed this. He had casually put his arm against the back of Lisbon's chair, effectively bringing himself closer to her without invading her personal space. Patrick clearly enjoyed touching agent Lisbon, displaying his affection publicly in these small forms. Agent Lisbon, on the other hand, showed either annoyance or ignored him.

"But you're having coffee together," Sophie insisted.

"It's just coffee. We're friends. We're not going to start kissing and telling sweet nothings in each other's ear," Lisbon explained.

Patrick leaned back against his chair and looked at Lisbon. "Really? Is that what you do when you're dating someone, Lisbon?" he asked clearly amused.

She scoffed, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'm just saying." She looked furtively at Patrick before looking at Sophie again, smiling her professional, well-rehearsed smile.

That's when Sophie finally sees it, hidden between the depth of her eyes and the light blush on her cheeks. The thing that's new about Agent Lisbon.

She's in love.


	4. A Big Heart Isn’t Always Enough

_Once again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favourited this story. It means a lot to me that people take the time to review :) _

_Also, please note the date of this fic. I'm finally going back in time. Remember that this fic isn't in chronological order. I hope you can all easily follow it._

~o~

**A Big Heart Isn't Always Enough**

~o~

_Late October 2009_

~o~

Lisbon was facing Mrs. Foster while Jane sat on the side, facing Mrs. Foster nonetheless. He liked to appear to be slightly on the interviewee's side. He appeared less offensive that way.

"There is something else we wanted to talk to you about," Lisbon told Mrs. Foster after the woman explained her dispute with Victoria Adner. "You weren't in San Francisco the night of your husband's murder. You were at the mansion."

"You know about that." Mrs. Foster looked uncomfortable, rather than guilty, Lisbon noted.

"Why did you lie to us?" Lisbon asked her.

"I was ashamed."

"Of what?"

"Of why I was there in the first place," Mrs. Foster said, eyes blinking.

"Why was that?"

"She was spying on her husband," Jane answered for Mrs. Foster. "She suspected him of being unfaithful."

"Yes," Mrs Foster confirmed, surprised. "How did you know that?"

"Because he's been unfaithful before." Lisbon startled a little and looked at Jane. There was definitely more behind Jane's guess. The tone of his voice and the look on his face were a bit... off.

"Yes. He had an affair about a year ago. He was out of town, and I was caught up with my work, and, " Mrs. Foster paused and sighed, "it happened."

"It's very understanding of you," Lisbon commented.

"Oh, I was furious, believe me. But we worked on it, counselling and so forth, and I thought I had moved on," Mrs. Foster explained. "But I hadn't. I didn't trust him. So when Allan told me that he would spend the weekend at the mansion and wouldn't be coming home, I decided I had to go there to catch him in the act."

"Then no one showed up." Jane said, staring at Mrs. Foster. He had barely looked at Lisbon since the cheating business came to light.

"No, I felt so awful that I left without talking to him."

"What time did you leave?" Lisbon asked her.

"Around 10."

"Is there any way to prove that?"

"Um, I bought gas on the way home," Mrs. Foster told her and Lisbon wrote it down. "The credit card company will have a record of that, right?"

"Yes," Lisbon answered. "We'll verify that."

"I can't help thinking that if I had stayed there," Mrs. Foster began, looking at Jane, "if I had just gone and talked to him, he would still be alive."

"Hm, most likely you would both be dead," Jane retorted.

"With the way that I feel, I might prefer that."

"That feeling will pass," Jane reassured her.

"What do you know about that?"

"Enough."

~o~

"How did you know that Allan Foster had cheated on his wife?" Lisbon asked Jane as they drove to Eagle Creek.

"I've encountered enough cheating spouses during my career as a psychic," he answered.

Lisbon shook her head. "No, it's more than that. I could tell." She subconsciously slowed down. She waited a moment or two before asking: "Jane, did your wife cheat on you?"

Jane snorted. He stayed quiet for a few minutes. When she glanced in his direction, she saw that he was looking out the window, his eyes staring off into the distance, his mind having gone far away.

"Jane?" she tried to bring him back to reality.

He shifted and took a deep breath, returning to the present. "No, she didn't. My wife was a loving, faithful woman who did not deserve her cheating bastard of a husband."

"Oh, Jane," she said sympathetically. She should have known. So many elements made Jane portray his wife into the perfect woman whom he did not deserve, but him cheating on her was an obvious one.

"Don't," Jane said sternly. "I don't want your pity and I especially do not want it for this."

She nodded and kept her eyes on the road. These were the kind of moments that reminded her how far apart they really were and how Jane would always keep a gigantic gulf between them. No matter how nice, caring, and understanding he could be sometimes, she couldn't forget that he was never going to really share, really be with her. No matter how much fun they had or how much comfort they gave each other. They were two people in the middle of a large ocean each standing on their own island.

~o~

"Case closed pizza." Lisbon heard Jane say as he walked towards her and Cho.

"Case closed pizza," she confirmed as she helped Cho open the boxes.

She took a piece of paper towel, handed the roll to Cho, and turned to look at Jane. He seemed to be dragging his feet into the bullpen.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Right as rain," he answered her.

She didn't believe him for a second, but this was obviously not the right time so she grabbed a piece of pizza, thinking that she would question him later when they would be alone.

"Oh, I have the perfect thing to go with this," Jane said running back to the kitchen as Lisbon and Cho watched him go.

~o~

Lisbon watched Jane pour her and himself a glass of wine from her couch.

"I'm pretty sure this wine would be considered stolen property. Doesn't it belong to Mrs. Foster?" she asked playfully. She wasn't too keen on the theft, but grateful that the wine had a calming effect on Jane. He had been on edge for days and he was much worse tonight.

"It does. She gave me a dozen bottles as a thank you so it's all legit, my dear," he answered as he handed her a glass and took a seat next to her. They were each sitting at one end of the couch, their feet propped up on it, meeting in the middle. She tucked her feet beneath his. His feet were always so warm while hers were so cold. She waited a few minutes, relaxing with the wine and the comfortable silence before disturbing the peace.

"Jane," she said, getting his attention, "what happened tonight? Why were you upset?"

Jane shook his head dismissively. "It's nothing," he answered before taking a sip of wine.

"We're not really a couple, but I would like to think that we're friends. Sometimes talking helps," she said tentatively.

"We _are_ friends," he confirmed and then looked at her sadly, "but I don't want to be helped."

Lisbon nodded, sad. "I know," she whispered. "I just wish you would."

He reached down to sneak his hand inside her sock to rub her ankle affectionately. "Such a big heart, my Lisbon," he murmured. Then he said in a louder voice, "come on, let's start that ghastly movie."

"It's not ghastly. Sleepless in Seattle is a classic."

Jane groaned, but sat back readying himself to watch the movie. He kept rubbing her ankle the whole time and as the movie started, his hand slowly made its way a little further up her leg, halfway to her knee. She tried to ignore the shiver down her spine and the rush of warmth that spread throughout her body.

This was definitely dangerous territory.

~o~

She woke up to the feeling of strong arms holding her body. By the time she completely regained consciousness, she was being swept up from the couch and taken up the stairs. She opened her eyes and saw only dark grey. Jane's vest. She groaned in protest and wriggled about, trying to get off his arms. Her efforts only made Jane strengthen his hold on her. She decided to give up, sleep calling her, and closed her eyes. He gently laid her on her bed and released his hold of her. He took her pants and socks off. After putting her covers over her, she heard his footsteps going away from the bed.

"Stay," she said before she could stop herself.

"You're sleeping," he pointed out.

Of course he thought she meant sex. They were only lovers. She had no intention of sleeping with him tonight so why was she asking him to stay? Nevertheless, she couldn't stop herself from insisting. "Just to sleep." She opened her eyes to look at him, but all she saw was a silhouette standing in the doorframe. "It's getting cold." If she had been more awake, she would have been mortified by her lame excuse.

Jane sighed and she thought he was going to leave. Instead, he stepped further inside the room and closed the door. She rolled over, back to him, to leave him room and buried her face in her pillow to hide her smile. She listened as he took his shoes, vest and pants off. The mattress dipped as he sat down next to her. After a minute, he lifted the duvet and crawled in next to her. She turned around and faced his lying form. He was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. He had taken his dress shirt off and looked unbelievably attractive. If she was just a parcel more awake, she would be on top of him right now.

Jane turned his head to look at her. "You should sleep now. My body heat should warm you up in no time." He said the last sentence with a hint of sarcasm. Trust him not to let that one go. He really took every opportunity to mock her.

She ignored his comment and closed her eyes. "G' night, Jane," she murmured.

"Good night, Lisbon," he said softly.

As sleep claimed her once again that night, Lisbon thought that she could definitely get used to this.

She just had to remember that she couldn't.

~o~


	5. Foreign

**Author's Notes: **Again, thank you so much for all the reviews. I love the support. I must warn everyone that updating this fic will be quite slow because I want to end it after season 2 finale, so I'll probably finish it only sometime in June. Hope you'll bear with me :)

* * *

**Foreign**

~o~

_Early February 2010_

~o~

Cho loved Elise. He really did. However, when she kidnapped him on a perfectly good rainy Saturday afternoon to watch some kind of weird foreign film, he loved her just a teeny tiny bit less.

"Claudia went to see this with her husband last weekend and she raved about it."

Cho made a non-committed nod. He better get sex out of this. Suddenly something, or rather someone, caught his attention: Patrick Jane. He would recognize that hair anywhere. He was only standing a few people in front of them. They would say a _brief_ hello when – _if – _ they met him inside.

* * *

"Isn't that Patrick Jane over there?" Elise pointed to Jane at the food counter, an enormous bag of popcorn, a pack of candy and two drinks on the counter in front of him. "He must be here with someone. I guess you were wrong about him being a loner."

Cho frowned as he watched Jane trying to juggle all the food he had bought. He put everything on a bench and sat on it, clearly waiting for someone.

"Let's go say hi," Elise suggested as she began walking towards Jane. Cho put a hand on her arm, stopping her as he noticed the person joining Jane: a small brunette with a frown on her face and cinema tickets in her hands. They were close enough to be within earshot.

"This movie is in French, Jane."

"It's supposed to be an excellent film," Jane explained.

"I took Spanish in High School," she deadpanned.

"Don't worry, Lisbon, there are subtitles."

She sighed, exasperated. "There are so many other things I would rather do with my Saturday afternoon." Cho was with her on that.

Jane cupped her face and planted a languid kiss on her lips. "Cheer up," he said as he leaned back. "If it's boring, we'll have an opportunity to make out."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "We could have easily made out without spending over $20 on a stupid film and junk food."

Cho's eyes widened. Was that really Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon?

"Aw, they're so cute," Elise commented. He looked at his girlfriend. She had the same look on her face as she did when she watched a romantic comedy. This was about Jane and Lisbon. It was nauseating. "Are you sure you don't want to say hi?" she asked him.

"They're keeping this private for a reason."

Elise smiled and held his hand. "Okay. Your call." They watched them walk into the theater, waited a couple of minutes and then went in as well. The theater was full and they had a hard time finding seats. Who knew so many people in Sacramento were interested in foreign crap?

"Here," Elise pointed to two empty seats in the back. "Let's go before someone takes them. We don't want to get stuck sitting in the front row."

Once they sat down, Cho saw the guy's head buried in the girl's hair. It looked like he was kissing her neck.

Great, Cho thought, we've got teenagers sitting in front of us.

"Jane," the girl said and Cho froze, "we're in public."

This was absolutely perfect.

"Did you notice who's sitting in front of us?" Elise asked him.

Cho nodded.

"I guess you're hoping this movie will be incredibly interesting, huh?"

Cho nodded again. This afternoon was slowly turning into a nightmare. Then Jane turned around and smiled at Cho and Elise.

"Oh, hey Cho. Elise." He waved.

"Hello, Mr. Jane. We saw you earlier. We didn't want to bother you."

Lisbon slowly turned around and gave the other couple a tight smile. "Hi," she said to them awkwardly.

Cho gave her a small wave and a nod, telling her, in his own way that it was okay and that he wouldn't say a word to her or anyone else. She nodded back, grateful.

"Enjoy the movie," Jane told them as the lights dimmed and the commercials started.

"Thank you, Mr. Jane," Elise replied.

"They saw us kissing," Lisbon hissed at Jane after a moment.

"Technically, I was kissing you."

"You're irritating," she told him.

"And you're adorable."

Elise looked at Cho with that 'aw' look again. Cho was fairly sure he was going to puke before the afternoon was over.

* * *

As soon as the movie was over, Cho tried to usher Elise out of the theater as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Jane got a hold of her before he managed to do so and he and Elise got into a conversation about the film they had just seen. Lisbon walked awkwardly by Cho's side. He would have been quite happy if they had kept silent, but after a minute or so, she said:

"It isn't anything, you know. We're just passing time."

Cho gave her a slight nod.

"I know exactly when it's going to end," she continued. "Next Red John case." She paused, then said: "I can feel it in my bones. He's going to pull away." She glanced at him and then startled, as if she was suddenly aware that she had been talking out loud, to him. "As you see, it really isn't anything."

Cho nodded again, reassuring her in his understanding and silence.

He was going to kill Jane when he broke her heart. And if Red John managed to kill Jane, before Cho did, he would bring Jane back to life and kill him again.

~o~

The End.


End file.
